O.S.M. and Friends

Ruins and Other Locations

The Witch Wood Valley
This conifer filled valley is the dominion of the ancient Witch Zaga and any who dare pass through her lands must offer tribute, though it is no guarantee of safety. The Witch dwellsin a box canyon at the east end of the valley in tall slender tower built of red stone, and she rarely welcomes visitors. She is served by a court of goblins, ogres and other foul beasts to serve and protect her. Zaga follows the old ways and learned the secrets of arcane magic from bargains made with primal powers, these same begins grant her divine power as well. The few who have seen Zaga describe her as crone, tall but stooped, who leans heavily on a wrought iron staff, with dissolved grey hair and tattered black robes.Rumors
• The valley is patrolled by worg riding goblins who have been known to make raids on the Hawk road but only at night. The goblins are cruel and fiercely loyal to Zaga and cannot be bribed but are still cowardly like all of their lot.
• The red stone of Zaga’s tower was mined on the plane of elemental earth and holds powerful magic that makes her tower larger on the inside than the outside.
• Zaga has arcane power to rival Everon, but not the desire to expand her realm.
• The witch is a master of changing her form, and has walked the streets of Mornford and regularly visits the Halfling matriarch.
• Zaga is immune to steal and iron weapons, only wood and stone can harm her.
• Zaga is at least 300 years old and has accumulated mounds of treasure both magical and mundane.

The Ruins of the Monastery of the Saint Arthania The Ruined Monastery
Dedicated to the followers of Deka (Divine Demigod of Knowledge and lore) in Thaeten times. Now it is home to numerous wyverns that next among behind the walls of the sprawling ruins that snake its way along the steep cliffs. Each member of the monastery came seeking solitude so the monastery was spread among several buildings with one large common area for the daily prayer. The entrance to the temple was reached by a great elevator that has long since ceased to function and now the cliff itself must be scaled.Rumors
• Several of the buildings can only be reached by the network of underground tunnels that connected them through the cliff face.
• Much of the knowledge of the monastery was collected in this temple was stamped on copper folios kept in a great library deep in the mountain.
• More than one sage has commissioned adventures to plumb the depth looking for some shred of lost knowledge but none have returned, most blame the wyverns but others say the ghost of the monks haunt the halls of the monastery.
• A secret treasure room exist in the monastery that holds a vast endowment given to the monks from the wealthy nobles.
• Many of the monks in a quest for knowledge made bargains with Asmodeous and this eventually lead to the downfall of the monastery.
• Rym Oakheart a fierce dwarven fighter and his band of sell swords never returned from a jurney to the monastery. Rym carried a enchanted axe that could slice metal as easily as paper.

Ruins of Highwall Keep
In Thaeten times a wall was built at the narrowest part of the valley. It was topped with war engines to prevent the raids of the giant clans that dwelled deep in the mountains. The keep was destroyed during fall of the Thaeten Empire and a broad stretch of the Hawk’s road leads through the ruins of the keep.Rumors
• The giant clans have been seen in the valley again, it’s only a matter of time before they decide to raid Grenval.
• Something has claimed a few brave souls that enter the keep, others report nothing but dust and rock, the bodies of those lost are never found.
• Kryton Longshadow rebuilt a small part of the keep as he spent two summers there conducting some sort of research.
• The keep is abandoned but the Owls have an outpost somewhere in the valley to keep an eye on the ruins.
• The Keep was an important trading post during the latter part of Thaeten times with mountain barbarians trading furs and silver for weapons and civilized goods. A few brave merchants will still make the trek thru the pass to the markets at Freetower as profit margins are huge.

The Old Tower
An old Thaeten tower sit on a mountain side west of the Red Wash. It is not a military tower and it was probably used as a hunting lodge or summer retreat in the time of the empire. It was looted long before the Legion claimed the valley, and its remote location makes it a poor choice for rehabitation as even goblins find it to remote. The path to the tower is little more than a one person trail, nearly impassable in winter except by mountain goats. Rumors
• Lights have been seen from the tower starting around the new year. The trappers describe the light as “Witch Lights” strange green yellow glows coming shining from the roof of a tower.
• The tower has a well, though local trappers are leery to use the water.
• The Hernson Brothers took 4 mules loaded with supplies to the tower once the snow melted, but that was over a month ago and they haven’t returned.

Ruins of Vissel
In Thaeten times this city stood on the shores of the lake that bears its name, but time and weather have taken their toll and only a few stone walls stand and trees have pushed their way up through the foundation. Nothing of value stands in the ruins as it has been picked through by generations of treasure hunters.Rumors
• Trappers won’t spend the night in the ruins as it is rumored goblins inhabit the place and these vermin ambush the unwary from secret tunnels they have dug between the old cellars.
• In Thaeten times Vissel was an out of the way backwater as far from court politics as one could get. Its doubtful even in Thaeten times there was anything worth stealing.
• The followers of the Serpent meet in Vissel at midnight in the ruins of the old church to make their sacrifices and perform their blasphemies rituals.
• In Thaeten times political rivals were exiled the Vissel to rot in obscurity.